Ares Management to Buy Majority of London Builder

Ares Management-controlled funds are poised to obtain a majority stake in English homebuilder London Square in a deal worth more than $171 million.

The agreement is expected to close by month’s end.

Ares Management in Century City announced the purchase on Thursday. The acquisition involves the firm’s private equity and real estate funds. Ares Management plans to make future investments in order to finance plans for London Square to develop 1,000 homes annually in the Greater London area.

“We look forward to supporting London Square’s future growth and committing more capital to the business as it continues to meet the growing demand for quality homes for a broad range of homebuyers,” Charles Steel, a partner in the Private Equity Group at Ares Management, said in a press release.

The seller in the transaction is London private equity firm Graphite Capital, which invested $50 million pounds, worth nearly $86 million at today’s exchange rate, to found London Square in 2010.

Shares of Ares Management rose 16 cents, or nearly 1 percent, to close at $18.95 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.